


Watching The Watcher in the Woods

by Nyssareen



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Interdimensional Travel, Irrational Fears, Scary Movies, Silly, The Watcher in the Woods (movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 12:04:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15509484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyssareen/pseuds/Nyssareen
Summary: Rose takes the Doctor to a movie, but he has a little trouble with fact vs fiction.





	Watching The Watcher in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by a prompt from Jouta. 
> 
> "Watching a scary horror movie and trying to pretend not to be scared during and after the movie."
> 
> The story heavily references the 1980 Disney live action movie The Watcher in the Woods. If you're not familiar with it, I highly recommend it. It's a really good family suspense movie. If you haven't watched it, you'll be fine with this story because everything necessary to the story is explained. But if you haven't watched it and want to see it without spoilers, watch it first, because this story covers a lot of the important bits. The only thing you need to know is that, while it is a good, scary family movie, it is NOT a terrifying story of evil interdimensional beings intent on taking over our universe.
> 
> I'm still REALLY new to fanfic writing (this is only my second attempt) so I really, really want feedback, but don't be too mean!

“It’s a silly Disney movie, Doctor, it came out when my mom was a kid. It’s not scary, just silly, but there’s a mystery and this interdimensional travel thing. You’ll like it, you’ll laugh. Come on! You’ve never taken me to the cinema before.” 

  


Rose tugged at the sleeve of his suit jacket and grinned up at him. That cute grin of hers, tongue between her teeth and nose wrinkled. He could never refuse her anything when she gave him that smile.

  


“Fine then, but I’m taking my book.” He held up a thick textbook labeled  _ Entry-level Interdimensional Travel - 500,845 edition _ “I’ve been meaning to see just how wrong this book really is.”

  


She glared 

  


“You can’t take your book, Doctor, it will be dark in the theater.” He opened his mouth, but she cut him off “And don’t tell me about glow-in-the-dark ink. For once, can you just pay attention to one thing at a time?” 

  


The Doctor grumbled to himself, but he set his book on the console and followed Rose down the ramp and out of the TARDIS.

  


The New York City theater was dingy, not the fancy one the Doctor had promised, but it didn’t look too scary. Not compared with most of the places they ended up, anyway. Rose bought the tickets (" _I’ll never understand Earth money, Rose, and American money is worse than most!")_ then they went into the theater and found their seats. The theater was relatively empty, which was a good thing, because it turned out that the Doctor was not very good at cinema etiquette.  


  


“It’s obvious that someone is watching them from the woods. Even if the camera angles and music didn’t make it clear, it’s the name of the movie  _ The Watcher in the Woods. _ I thought this was supposed to be a suspenseful movie.” 

  


Rose tried to shush him and explain that the people in the movie didn’t know the title and couldn’t hear the music or see the the camera angles. But that only brought another round of questions, so she just shushed him again, and stopped trying to explain.

  


“Well the name Nerak is Karen spelled backward. The little girl is obviously possessed by someone called Karen.”

  


That was met by angry shushing from the person three rows back and Rose slumped down in her seat, already regretting suggesting the cinema.

  


“How is she using the mirrors, Rose?” 

  


She was surprised to hear an anxious, low voice hissing in her ear.

  


“This ‘Karen’ being is trying to break through from another dimension through the mirrors, somehow. How is Jan supposed to know how to deal with a malicious, interdimensional being? She’s just a 17 year old girl!” 

  


She looked at him, curiously. Maybe he didn’t understand that movies weren’t real any more than he understood theater etiquette.

  


“The old woman is trying to drown the little girl, Rose! Is she in league with the malicious interdimensional being? Or is  _ she _ the malicious interdimensional being manifesting itself in the form of an extremely old woman so she can use the bodies of young women to poke holes in the fabric of our reality?” 

  


He actually seemed to be getting rather nervous, now. She never thought she would have to explain imaginary and reality to him. But then, reality did mean a very different thing to him than it did to most people.

  


“Wait, is it trying to kill the little girl, or possess her? Or is the little girl really the being in disguise and she’s controlling the old woman? Did the music box open the portal and let the interdimensional being take over the little girl like it did Karen? But if it took Karen over, where is she now? Did they make a mistake and she accidentally fell back through the portal and now they need the little girl to get back through? But what do they need Jan for, then? Is she the one who opens the portal so the beings can fully possess the little girl and destroy reality?”  

  


He was tugging at her arm with every sentence and staring at the screen, wide eyed and frantic. An usher with a flashlight came over to them, shining the light on their faces  


  


“I’m sorry, sir, but I’m going to have to ask you to keep your voice down, the other guests can’t hear the movie.” 

  


The Doctor stood and shouted in his face.

  


“Keep my voice down? There are interdimensional beings trying to break through the fabric of reality by possessing an old woman, a little girl and possibly a puppy! I can’t keep my voice down while the whole of time and space may be coming to an end!” 

  


The usher looked at Rose, who just shrugged helplessly. He walked away, muttering about crazy people coming to the movies on his shift.

  


“ _ When the bell crashed, Karen was already gone!” Tom cried to Jan, wild eyed. _

  


“The interdimensional beings used Tom, John and Mary to create the portal with the lightning! The sudden, hot fire triggered the dimensional shift and pulled Karen through! I saw something like that on Galagus V, but they just pulled people from one side of the planet to the other. They weren’t maliciously trying to destroy the fabric of reality, but it still ended very badly.” 

  


What in the world…?

  


“They _are_ trying to create the portal again, Rose! If they create the portal again, the interdimensional being will use the little girl to pull their reality into normal space and destroy the entirety of time and space through the body of Jan! Tom is one of them too, as well as the old woman. He’s controlling John and Mary and making them help him!” 

  


He was crouched down in his seat and clinging to her arm so tightly it hurt, now. Rose rolled her eyes and tried, not for the first time this evening, to tell him it was just a movie. 

  


“That doesn’t mean the reality isn’t real, Rose!”

  


_ “Jan, get out of there!” Mike tackled her, throwing them both across the church. A bright flash of light and Karen suddenly appeared on the platform. Her mother clung to her and the movie ended. Pleasant music played as the credits ran, but an ominous stinger hit at the end. _

  


The Doctor sat, staring at the screen, limply, long after it went blank and the lights came up. He was silent for the first time in the last hour and a half.

  


“Doctor...are you alright?” 

  


He didn’t look alright in the least.

  


“But...they didn’t close the portal, Rose. The interdimensional being is still in this reality. Didn’t you hear that ominous music at the end? The music means the interdimensional being is still there. They only sent Karen back as a ruse to make them think it was over. If lightning strikes there again, it will open the portal back up and they’ll be able to complete their plan.” 

  


His voice was low and desperate now. Rose had to fight back the urge to laugh. Instead, she explained, as one would to a small child.   
  


“It’s ok, Doctor, Karen learned about them while she was stuck in their reality and knows how to keep it closed. She’ll stay there for the rest of her life and keep an eye on it so it won’t get opened again.” She cut off his next objection “And she’ll teach her kids how to keep it closed and they’ll teach their kids and the fabric of reality will be safe for the rest of time, yeah?” 

  


He looked mildly comforted by her explanation and took her hand as they left the theater.

  


He didn’t say anything as they went back to the TARDIS, or while he moved around the console. Rose tried to get him talking, but he only responded in grunts and shrugs. Finally she asked

  


“Where are we going, Doctor?”

  


“Oh, nowhere, really, I thought we’d just float around the vortex for a while. You should get some sleep. I’m going to go read a bit.” 

  


With that, he disappeared down the hall, his  _ Entry-Level Interdimensional Travel _ book still sitting on the console. She stared after him, dumbfounded.

  


Rose was fast asleep, when a light tapping on the door woke her. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and called for him to come in. The Doctor came across the room and sat on the edge of her bed. His voice low and steady, but with an edge of urgency to it.  


  


“Rose, I’ve been trying to find the coordinates for that church so I can make sure the portal stays sealed, but I can’t figure out exactly where it is. They never said beyond that it was in England. Do you know?”

  


He looked genuinely worried. She blinked, sleepily.

  


“Doctor, have you been trying to figure this out the whole time I’ve been asleep? It’s been hours.”

  


He shook his head, looking sheepish.

  


“No, I was actually tired, so I took a nap.”

  


She frowned and had a sudden, strange thought.

  


“Doctor, did you have a nightmare about the movie?”

  


He looked away from her and started fiddling the his tie.

  


“Maybe…”

  


She closed her eyes and shook her head with a sigh

  


“Doctor?”

  


“Yes, Rose?”

  


“Remind me to never take you to the cinema again.”

  



End file.
